1st open winner of the versele laga winners trophy mr & mrs j humphries & son 2 bird average winner trophy sponsored by versele laga mr & mrs j humphries & son best oppersite sex to winner trophy sponsored by versele laga mr & mrs j humphries &son
1st open Bergerac 2014
2nd open bergerac 2014
bergerac , and the final event of the above organisations 2014 old bird programme got underway with basketing on monday 7th july ,for a planned liberation on fri 11th
with all proceedings completed the convoy were once again on route early tuesday morning to liase with other welsh and english federations and national clubs who were all being convoyed by the central southern classic for the onward journey south across the channel to bergerac ,
friday morning and with no reports of any problems on route and a safe arrival on site early fri morning the convoyer reported poor conditions with low mist and fog lingering in the liberation region and with the lack of any wind to clear the said obstruction the conveyor reluctantly had no alternative other than to hold the birds over today and wish for better conditions tomorrow
sat morning
with early dawn offering a totally different outlook regarding the weather ,the convoyers and race advisory committee had no hesitation in getting the convoy of approx 1,450 pigeons away in clear skies and very little winds ,however any wind that was to be experienced on route up through france was described as light north westerly ,and accompanied by the humidity we were well aware that the pigeons had a task ahead of them on their 500 mile journey home
sat evening and with our competitors on standby at their lofts hopefull that there maybe possible day pigeons as in 2013 ,news came in that one arrival had been recorded on the south coast within the cscfc at the loft of dave and lisa waterhouse of portsmouth and after doing the usual calculations based on the extra distance , any possible welsh sightings on the night ,pigeons would be if any expected around 9.30 pm ,for any of our members duplicating back to us from the cscfc to challenge what turned out to be the eventual winner of the cscfc 2014 bergerac race
nightfall and as the sun went down over the hills here in the welsh valleys any possible arrivals within the wnfc also seemed to, as preparations were underway for an early start the following morning
and with yet another day of extreme heat expected it was at 7.30 am that news came through to record the first arrivals in the wnfc ,these were at the lofts of federation secretaries john and rosemay humphries & son (david)from beaufort near ebbw vale the partnership timed in two of their four entries at 06.09 and 07.06 with velocities of 826 .1 and 784.9 ,the winning pigeon claiming the versele laga sponsored winners trophy is a 3yr old blue hen which was bred and gifted to the partnership from local fancier mel mayo of bargoed through his dominant pigeon bobby1s boy this game pigeon which clearly wasn`t far from home by nightfall was sent sitting 10 day old eggs in the nest and prior to this event was sent to all the past over seas races
1ST & 2ND OPEN BERGERAC 2014
MR & MRS J HUMPHRIES & SON
resulting in the following positions Fougeres and Messac winning 29th North Section Fougeres and 23rd North Section, 49th Open from Messac. It was originally planned to send her to Pau but with the nest conditions not being right at the time of basketing so she was held back ready for this event.
1ST OPEN BERGERAC 2014
2ND OPEN BERGERAC 2014
The partnerships 2nd arrival and not only claiming 2nd open but also winning the versele laga two bird average trophy and the best opposite sex to winner trophy is a 2yr old blue pied cock and is a jan arden and Son of the partnerships 1st Club, 1st Federation, 3rd National from Tarbes 602 miles in 2013. He was alao sent sitting 14 days and has flown consistently inland races however on his first outing across the channel to Carentan he returned to the loft injured which resulted in a few weeks rest before slowly being returned to the race team and in preparation for Bergerac he had numerous single tosses from as far as Maidstone approx 165 miles before basketing
For 3rd and 4th open its into bargeod we go to the loft of mel mayo whom timed in at 08.43 and 18.04 on the winning day with velocities of 713 & 490 .8 mels first arrival is a 5yr old cheq hen which is a grand daughter of his well established retired bonn national winner bobby`s boy ,this game hen has flown consistant throughout the season and part from giving the recent pau race a miss of 600 miles she had encountered every race within the 2014 programme ,with the heat and humidity worse as the day went on it wasn’t till early evening that mel verified his second arrival and the fourth on the result at 18.04 this was a 2yr old cheq cock which is a grandson through bobby`s boy ,and likewise as all of mels pigeons he believes they are there to race not to just look at on the perch and has also endured all of the past races through out 2014 So after two days just four game and gallant pigeons had been verified and confirmed and with very little hope of seeing any more of the convoy within race time as none were recorded throughout Monday ,i received a call to check on a velocity of mel mayo`s third arrival on Tuesday afternoon at 14.42 which on calculating was seen to be within the 220 close of race velocity deadline recording 235.1 this small smokey blue hen which was recorded is yet another descendent of bobby`s boy a g.g.dtr and not only takes 5th open but im informed that she was also 2nd open Bergerac in 2013 for this loft and fancier
So there it is the old bird programme finished for another year and on looking back we have experienced a highly successful rate in relation to other organisations with members of the wnfc timing in from all of the overseas races ,and further more would of appeared highly against more experienced fanciers and flyers within the southern part of the uk
So we know move onto Maidstone the first of our young bird events and still we are receiving enquiries regarding membership for young birds ,which is pleasing to see for the future of the wnfc a few things before finishing the remainder of the programme is as per programme which can be viewed on our website at www.welshnational.co.ukSAT 23RD AUG MAIDSTONE SPONSORED BY A KIDD GARDENING SERVICES SAT 30TH AUG BATTLE (NR HASTINGS) JACK JENKINS MEMORIAL TROPHY SAT 13TH SEPT RAMSGATE SPONSORED BY MR MRS T TREMEER Also two dates which need to be addressed in future weeks the first is that mr chris Sutton (photographer)will shortly be visiting south wales to catch up with the photos that are missing from our 2014 old bird portfolio a date as yet hasn’t been set but fanciers will be advised shortly and finally the 2014 welsh national fc and welsh north road federation annual presentation night will be held on sat 13th dec at the seamans mission club Newport